An AmeriCorps volunteer firefighter assigned to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Woodland Fire Crew, helps contain a spot fire in an evacuated area of forest, ranches and residences, in the Black Forest wildfire area, north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, June 13, 2013. According to officials, at least 360 homes have been burned, and 38,000 people have been evacuated since the fire began earlier in the week. AP PHOTO/BRENNAN LINSLEY
LOS ANGELES—A raging wildfire in Colorado has burned down 360 homes, making it the most destructive ever in the western US state, while 38,000 people have been evacuated, officials reports said Thursday.
The Black Forest Fire—the worst of several blazes ravaging the state—has forced the evacuation of 13,000 homes over 94,000 acres of land, according to El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.
High temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have fanned the flames. “Wind is our number one threat. It has been the game changer,” Maketa said in a Twitter update on the blaze, which started on Tuesday near Colorado Springs.
Federal authorities are helping state and local firefighters with resources including two C-130 aircraft, the Department of Defense announced.
The blaze is more destructive than the last year’s Waldo Canyon fire west of Colorado Springs, which burned 347 homes to the ground. No injuries have been reported, and one person reported missing Wednesday was found Thursday.
Among other major fires in the state, the Royal Gorge fire southwest of Colorado Springs has consumed more than 3,162 acres and was 20 percent contained by Thursday, according to the forest fire website Inciweb.